A few days before Ilyas Kashmiri — the Pakistani militant who owned up to beheading an Indian Army soldier and killing seven others in a cross-border raid in 2000 — was killed in a US drone attack in Waziristan, an Indian Army officer who was blamed for failing to defend the post was finally absolved of blame by the Supreme Court after an extended legal battle.

While Kashmiri shot to fame in Pakistan after he carried back the severed head of the Indian soldier, Colonel Sandes who was responsible for the ‘Ashok LP’ post as the commanding officer of the 17 Maratha Light Infantry was blamed by his superiors for failing to “fight a successful defensive battle” and even missed a promotion to the rank of Brigadier after his appraisal report was downgraded.

However, what was not mentioned was that ColonelSandes had written repeated letters to the Army high command, even three months prior to the incident, for shifting out the post as it was highly vulnerable to a sneak attack by Pakistan.

Incidentally, Sandes’s appraisal report was downgraded by his superior Brigadier RK Saigal — the very officer to whom several letters had been written.

Sandes was finally granted relief by the Supreme Court on September 4 that has now directed the Army to hold a special promotion board for the officer within six weeks and disregard the low rating that was awarded to him earlier.

The case revolves around the cross-border guerilla raid in February 2000 that was carried out by, as Pakistani media reports now say, Ilyas Kashmiri and 25 other terrorists in which eight Indian soldiers were killed and Sepoy Bhausaheb Maruti Talekar was beheaded.

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